1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens alignment apparatus for correcting disalignment of a lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various lens alignment apparatuses for aligning an optical axis of a main lens (lens group) with an optical axis of an adjusting lens (lens group) upon assembly are known, and have been made commercially viable. The basic concept of such prior art lens alignment apparatuses is to continuously adjust the position of the optical axis of the adjusting lens relative to the optical axis of the main lens in a stepless manner. In such a stepless type of lens alignment apparatus, the operator is free to optionally select a desired adjustment position. However, lens products tend to have the same disalignment for each lot. Nevertheless, the operator must individually carry out an adjustment for each lens product to determine a correct position from different initial positions. Therefore, such disalignment adjustment is complicated and requires an increased amount of time. Moreover, the accuracy of the adjustment becomes irregular due to differences in the operator's skill or the quality of the lens products. Furthermore, once the lens assembly is disassembled, it is practically impossible to reproduce the aligned state thereof.
In view of the drawbacks of the prior art mentioned above, the present invention provides a lens alignment apparatus in which a lens alignment can be easily performed with a minimum number of operations and in a short time.